The San Juan Mountains loom over a 4,000 square mike area in the Southwest corner of Colorado. It was upon this rugged terrain that Otto Mears (dubbed the Transportation King of the San Juans) nearly single-handedly oversaw this 172 mike of track for the Rio Grande Southern, the most spectacular mountain railroad ever attempted in America. The RGS circled and crawled over four mountain passes between Ridgway and Durango, tapping Rico and Telluride, and many other mining towns and crossing the highest point at 10,250 feet at Lizard Head Pass.

For sixty years (1893 to the early 1950’s), the Rio Grande Southern Railroad carried the economy of the San Juans. The annual autumn stock rush saw frequent and long double and triple headed trains which earlier had carried the precious minerals of the land, then longhorns and later the “wollies” (sheep). During the end of the 19th century the region proved to be one of the largest cattle-producing areas in the state of Colorado.

In the fall of 1951, the final stock season for the narrow gauge line came to an end. The 461 “mudhen” works a stock extra over from the Dallas Divide. Cowboy and dog bid a final farewell to this rugged train era.

The streamlined glamour trains – The Texas Special – were ordered by both the Katy and Frisco systems in 1945. Katy’s #101 made its maiden voyage of regular service between St. Louis and San Antonio on May 15, 1948 . It was publicized and promoted as the glittering new “Flagship of the Southwest.”

The passenger cars were lavishly furnished with custom divans, reading and writing desks, refreshment lounges and observation areas. President Harry Truman enjoyed his excursions on the M-K-I when requiring transportation between his Missouri home and Texas points.

The longhorn steer lends a western flair and contrast to the flashy red and silver paint scheme of The Texas Special. Both are strong and majestic symbols of the west and are worthy to be called — “The Stars of Texas.

Norfolk Southern Railway was created in 1982 with the merger of Southern Railway and Norfolk & Western Railway. The corporate office resides in Atlanta, Georgia.
This scene depicts the Atlanta skyline at sunset using artistic license for all the engines to be “corralled” in the foreground.

Some factual statistics about the engines from left to right:

The “Switcher,” # 2409 was built in 1982 (model MP15DC EMD) with 1500 HP. It was immediately assigned to the Chattanooga, TN rail yards. # 3285 was built in 1978 (model SD40-2 EMD) with 3000 HP. # 9023 was built in 1997 (model D9-40CW) with 4000 HP. # 2658 was built in 2005 (model SD70M-2) also with 4000 HP. These road units are all currently in use with Norfolk Southern Railway.